Thousands of firefighters struggling with millions of hectares of burning forests in Siberia, California and Western Canada
Thank you for choosing Automatic Translation. Currently we are offering translations from English into French and German, with more translation languages to be added in the near future. Please be aware that these translations are generated by a third party AI software service. While we have found that the translations are mostly correct, they may not be perfect in every case. To ensure the information you read is correct, please refer to the original article in English. If you find an error in a translation which you would like to bring to our attention, it would help us greatly if you let us know. We can correct any text or section, once we are aware of it. Please do not hesitate to contact our webmaster to let us know of any translation errors.
"It had moved five kilometres in less than 30 minutes... The flames were 100 metres high".
Mike Ellis, Alberta's Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services
Arctic, Siberian and North American wildfires have burned millions of hectares this summer. A state of emergency has been declared in northeastern Russia and nearly 4,000 firefighters are engaged in battling the Park Fire in California.
SIBERIA: While Northern Europe has been rather wet and cold this summer, severe drought conditions have caused wildfires in the Arctic region to spread uncontrollably.
In northeastern Siberia, approximately 2,000 personnel are engaged in firefighting operations, according to the German news site PND.de.
In Siberia and the Russian Far East, wildfires are consuming close to 4 million hectares of forests, according to French news site Le Monde.
Since the start of the year, these fires have burned an area equivalent to the size of Normandy. This situation has sparked scrutiny of existing regulations and the effectiveness of public management.
Because of intense and early heatwaves, fire season started unusually early. According to the article in Le Monde on July 13, 6000 fires had by then burned almost 3,5 million hectares.
State of Emergency declared in the Yakutia Region
Russian authorities also report that these forest and wildfires have now consumed over one million hectares in the Yakutia region. The Ministry of Civil Defense in Yakutsk, the capital, indicates that more than 130 distinct fires are currently active in the area. Around 2,000 individuals are working both on the ground and in the air to combat the flames.
The fires are affecting fifty-two localities, causing significant smoke issues, leading to health hazards in the region.
A state of emergency has been declared in northeastern Russia for several weeks due to these wildfires. Many other regions in Russia, the world's largest country by land area, are also battling fires. The widespread forest and wildfires in the Arctic have recently led to heavy smoke, blanketing several cities.
Park Fire burns 145,000 hectares in California
CALIFORNIA: Nearly 4,000 firefighters are engaged in battling the so called Park Fire, burning along Highway 32 near Butte Meadows, supported by helicopters and water bombing planes, the CBC and several other media report.
"This fire is surprising a lot of people with its explosive growth... It is kind of unparalleled", said Jay Tracy, a spokesperson for Park Fire headquarters.
The Park Fire was one of over 100 wildfires burning in the U.S. on Sunday, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Many of these fires were ignited by weather conditions, with climate change contributing to the increased frequency of lightning strikes during a heavy heatwave with dry conditions.
The Park Fire covered more than 1,455 square kilometres / 145,500 hectares in the inland parts of northern California. It was started Wednesday, when authorities say a man pushed a burning car into a gully in Chico and then fled. A 42 year old man was arrested Thursday.
CTIF.org is working to get a more complete overview of the wildfire season in the US. Please stay tuned.
Historic Rocky Mountains resort town of Jasper destroyed by extremely fast moving wildfire
CANADA: Last week, CTIF.org reported that 25 0000 were evacuated from the Canadian mountain resort town of Jasper and from all of Jasper National Park. Alberta premier Danielle Smith told the media there is potentially 30 to 50 percent structural damage in the historic resort town in the Canadian part of the Rocky Mountains.
About 10,000 Jasper residents and 15000 tourists were evacuated, according to the BBC.
Mike Ellis, Alberta's Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services, said the fire was impossible to stop for any "man or machine" due to its remarkable speed of spread:
At one point, he said in a press conference, the fire was moving nearly 10 kms per hour / 6 mph.
"It had moved five kilometres in less than 30 minutes:, he said. The flames were 100 metres high... (about 300 feet)
... Any firefighter will tell you there's little to nothing you can do when you have a wall of flames coming in like that," Ellis told reporters.
Third highest CO2 emissions in two decades in the Arctic region
ARCTIC REGION: The Arctic region of the Russian Sakha Republic has been facing unusually high surface air temperatures and drier conditions, creating an environment ripe for wildfires, according to Copernicus.
CAMS scientists have been tracking a significant rise in daily total fire radiative power (FRP), which measures the intensity of the fires, and smoke emissions across the area.
The June monthly total carbon emissions from these wildfires, estimated by CAMS from FRP observations, are the third highest in the past two decades, totalling 6.8 mega-tonnes of carbon. This is surpassed only by June 2020 and 2019, which saw 16.3 and 13.8 mega-tonnes of carbon emissions respectively.
Changes in the Arctic climate are of great significance for everyone, as they impact the Earth system as a whole. With this in mind, CAMS has been cooperating with Arctic Basecamp on translating wildfire data into an alert system for remarkable climate events in the Arctic.
Gail Whiteman, Professor at the University of Exeter and founder of Arctic Basecamp says:
“The Arctic is ground zero for climate change and the increasing Siberian wildfires are a clear warning sign that this essential system is approaching dangerous climate tipping points. What happens in the Arctic doesn't stay there - Arctic change amplifies risks globally for all of us. These fires are a warning cry for urgent action.”
Contributing Factors: Low Rainfall and Dry Thunderstorm Fronts
Russia annually contends with fires that ravage extensive areas of forest and steppe. The European Union's Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) attributes the extensive spread of these fires to significantly higher temperatures and lower-than-usual rainfall in the particularly affected part of the Russian republic of Sakha (Yakutia).
Copernicus data shows temperatures up to seven degrees Celsius above the long-term average (1991-2020) and significant drought.
The Russian wildfire management unit, Avialesookhrana, has warned that dry thunderstorm fronts could spark new natural fires. The fires are further fuelled by strong winds and a lack of rainfall. In particularly remote areas, firefighting efforts are often limited due to personnel and cost constraints.
Heatwaves in the United States - Zombie fires survived underground in Canada
Arizona, California, Oregon and Nevada have all seen record-breaking heat in June and July, reports NPR.org. And while the heat wave is mostly in the West, states across the US including North Carolina and Maryland have also had record high temperatures.
"Zombie fires" surviving underground from 2023 combined with drought conditions across most of Western Canada — particularly the northeast — have set the stage for B.C.’s 2024 wildfire season, reports the Narwhal.
Not much rain or snow fell over the winter and most watersheds never had a chance to . never had to replenish from last year's heatwaves. This has led to an early and aggressive start to the season, with many new fires starting in April and May.
As the Weather Network reports, the province of Alberta has had numerous thunderstorms lighting up the dry vegetation.
